Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major health problem and affects many people in the United States alone. CHF is the loss of pumping power of the heart, and may result in the inability to deliver enough blood to meet the demands of peripheral tissues. CHF patients can have enlarged heart with weakened cardiac muscles, and as a result, reduced contractility and poor cardiac output of blood.
CHF is usually a chronic condition, but can occur suddenly. It can affect the left heart, right heart or both sides of the heart. If CHF affects the left ventricle, signals that control the left ventricular contraction are delayed, and the left and right ventricles do not contract simultaneously. Asynchronous contractions of the left and right ventricles further decrease the pumping efficiency of the heart.